By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Willamette University trailed Whitman College, 2-1, after three sets in their Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday, Sept. 23, but the Bearcats rallied to edge out the Blues, 3-2, at the Sherwood Center. Willamette took the match 19-25, 25-21, 10-25, 25-21, 15-10. The Bearcats improved to 4-5 overall, 3-0 in the NWC. Whitman fell to 3-9 on the season, 1-3 in the NWC.

Olivia Cadien (So., OH, Mesa, AZ/Chandler Preparatory Academy) led the way for Willamette with 12 kills, 13 digs, six service aces, and three total blocks. She received plenty of help from teammates, Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute), Dani Queja (Sr., OH, Ewa Beach, HI/Maryknoll School), Emma Porter (Sr., S, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute), Kaitlyn Westby (So., MH, Redmond, WA/Eastside Catholic HS), and Heavenly Tuputala (Fy., OH, Auburn, WA/Federal Way HS).

"This match was a great test," Willamette Head Volleyball Coach Lily Hallock said. "There were huge swings throughout and we stayed the course. Whitman was hammering balls and our defense and block really came along, with Shyla picking up an incredible 32 digs and Olivia and Kaitlyn ending the match with a block."

Sato's 32 digs led all players on both teams. She also provided a perfect receiving percentage on 23 serves received. Queja supplied WU with 11 kills and 11 digs, plus three service aces. Porter ran the offense with 32 assists and also earned nine digs. Westby finished the match with five total blocks, while Heavenly Tuputala (Fy., OH, Auburn, WA/Federal Way HS) provided three block solos.

Kenzie Martinez registered 17 kills for the Blues. Christina Boxberger contributed 14 kills and three service aces. Nicole Kelly supplied 12 kills and 14 digs. Jamie Bartok paced Whitman with 24 digs, while Teia Magaoay led the Blues with 48 assists to go with 16 digs.

The fifth set began with Queja scoring the first three points for Willamette by pounding a kill and then recording back-to-back service aces. Later, Willamette grabbed a 6-3 lead on a kill by Cadien and took an 8-4 edge on a service ace by Tuputala.

After the teams switched sides of the court, Whitman tallied the next three points to pull within 8-7, but the Blues never tied the Bearcats during the set. An attacking error by Whitman and a kill earned by WU's Sydney Locke increased the Bearcats' lead to 10-7.

Martinez achieved a kill for the Blues to cut the margin to 10-8, but a bad set by Whitman and a kill by Locke gave the Bearcats a 12-8 advantage. Locke blocked an attack by Martinez for the next point, increasing the lead to 13-8. Whitman battled back within 13-10 before an attacking error by Boxberger and a combo block by Caiden and Westby supplied Willamette with the final two points.

During the match, Whitman attained a 59-40 advantage in kills, but Willamette led 15-9 in service aces and the Blues committed three more serving errors (11-8). In addition, Willamette achieved 10.0 team total blocks (7 solo, 6 assists), while Whitman registered 7.0 blocks.

In the first set, Whitman hit a match-high .433 with 15 kills on its way to a 25-19 win. The Blues led 4-1 after five rallies, but the team's were eventually tied at 10-10. WC took a 13-11 lead on a kill by Sophia Dominitz a few rallies later, although the Bearcats answered with a kill by Queja. Whitman went on a 6-1 run, starting with a pair of kills by Martinez, to gain a 19-13 edge. WU was unable to get closer than five points during the remainder of the set.

Willamette surged out to a 10-3 lead to start the second set, including a service ace by Sato for a 4-1 advantage and three consecutive aces by Cadien for a 9-3 lead. The Blues committed an attacking error to complete Willamette's run. Whitman rallied with six consecutive points, starting with five kills in a row, as WU's lead was reduced to 10-9. Queja stopped the run with a kill, but Whitman added five more points for a 14-11 margin.

The Bearcats continued to battle, and eventually broke a 17-17 tie with a kill by Porter. Another four points followed, on a kill by Westby, an ace by Porter, and two kills by Cadien, as WU secured a 22-17 lead. Whitman moved within 22-21 before the Bearcats closed out the set at 25-21.

Whitman took a 12-3 lead in the third set and maintained control for a 25-10 win. The Blues earned 15 kills during the set , while Willamette managed just three kills.

The setback didn't stop the Bearcats, who scored four of the first five points in the fourth set, including service aces by Queja and Sato. Two more service aces by Cadien a few points later, gave WU an 8-3 edge. The Blues eventually led 10-9 and the teams were tied 12-12 before Willamette moved out to margins of 17-14 and 20-17. After Whitman cut the lead to 22-21, the Bearcats used a kill from Cadien, an attacking error by Boxberger, and a kill from Westby, to create a 3-0 run for a 25-21 win, forcing the fifth set.

Willamette will play at NWC rival Whitworth University on Saturday, Sept. 24. Match time in Spokane, Washington, is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PDT).